How Far From Water You Really Need To Poop
Quick Answer: How far from water to poop?
If you’re wondering how far from water to poop, the widely accepted minimum is:
- At least 200 feet (about 70 big steps) from any water source, trail, or campsite
- Bury waste 6–8 inches deep (also known as a “cathole”)
- Pack out waste anywhere that you can’t dig (frozen ground, rock, snow, high-use zones, or when rules require it)
How Far From Water You Really Need To Poop
Human waste may not be the first thing you think about when planning a weekend wilderness trip, but it’s one of the most important factors in maintaining water safety and minimizing the spread of harmful pathogens like E. coli in the outdoors.
As recreation levels rise, studies and real-world water monitoring increasingly show that poorly managed toilet stops near waterways and high-use areas contribute measurably to backcountry contamination. This is forcing land managers to increase regulations by reducing permits, closing camping areas and instituting permitting systems where they did not exist previously. In short, access to our public lands is being reduced due to improper bathroom practice.
This guide organizes the research and best practices to answer the question on every hiker’s mind: how far from water should I be when I poop in the backcountry? You’ll get clear, concise, and actionable best practices for all types of outdoor activities — from backpacking to mountaineering — grounded in real science and management experience.
Why Distance Matters For Water Safety
Pooping too close to lakes, rivers, streams, or even seasonal drainages increases the risk of backcountry contamination. Rain, snowmelt, and surface runoff can move microbes from human waste into water—especially in high-use recreation areas where many people concentrate their impact in the same spots.
Researchers and water quality scientists monitor indicator bacteria like E. coli and enterococci because they signal the presence of fecal contamination that could come from humans, livestock, or wildlife. High levels of these indicators correlate with increased risk of gastrointestinal illness among users of the water downstream. Even a small amount of human fecal matter can introduce microbes and pathogens into freshwater systems.
Pathogens of concern found in human waste include:
- E. coli and other fecal coliform bacteria
- Giardia and Cryptosporidium (protozoans that cause severe diarrhea)
- Noroviruses and enteric viruses
Recreation Ecology Research on Fecal Contamination
Academic studies also connect camping and trail use to detectable fecal contamination in mountain lakes and streams, especially where use is concentrated and soils are shallow.
These data underline one clear point: backcountry contamination from human poop isn’t hypothetical — it’s measurable and repeatable.
Watershed monitoring often finds elevated bacteria downstream of camps and popular recreation areas. Combined with visitor surveys linking illness episodes to hand hygiene lapses and poor human waste practices, this suggests a multifaceted approach is required.
Basic Rule: How Far From Water to Poop?
The widely adopted minimum guideline — from the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and Leave No Trace — is: Dig your cathole at least 200 feet (≈70 big steps) from any water, campsites, or trails
At this distance, soil has more capacity to filter pathogens, and the potential for overland flow to water is reduced. This rule serves as the simple answer to how far from water to poop in most natural landscapes.
But distance alone doesn’t guarantee safety. Topography, soil depth, vegetation, drainage patterns, and volume of use all influence whether human waste could still reach water through runoff or subsurface flow.
When 200 Feet Isn’t Enough (Or Isn’t Allowed)
The 200-foot rule is a baseline, but it can fail when conditions don’t support decomposition and filtration.
Consider packing out your poop instead of digging a cathole when:
- You’re in alpine terrain with thin soils or steep slopes
- You’re in a high-use zone (busy trails, popular lakes, river beaches, National Parks)
- You’re on snow, ice, or frozen ground
- Local regulations require mandatory pack-out
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You can’t realistically get 200 feet from water due to terrain (narrow canyons, tight drainages)
Practical Guidance by Activity
Below is activity-specific guidance on how to manage your poop in the backcountry and “how far from water to poop” with practical strategies tailored to different outdoor users.
Backpacking & Thru-Hiking
For backpackers asking how far from water to poop, default to the 200-foot rule only when a cathole is appropriate.
- Walk at least 200 feet from any water body, campsite, or social trail. The further the better.
- Choose sites to poop with deep organic soil where a 6–8-inch cathole can be dug easily. Consider carrying an all-in-one PACT Lite Bathroom Kit which holds all the supplies you need to dig, clean and restore the soil.
- If you’re moving through popular drainages or basins with fragile soils, consider packing your waste out entirely using a disposable Pack Out Kit. Packing out your poop entirely is especially important in alpine areas, arid deserts, river corridors and high-use areas like National Parks.
- Maintain strict hand hygiene — research shows handwashing and sanitizer use drastically reduce illness risk.
When topsoil is thin, the ground is rocky, or it’s hard to dig a cathole, pack it out. Modern Pack Out Kits or “WAG Bags” are excellent tools to have in your pack as a back-up to digging a cat-hole.
For more information on the situations or conditions when packing out your poop is required, check out our post, Why Burying Your Poop Doesn’t Always Work and What Hikers Should Do About It.
Car Camping & Front-Country Campgrounds
Use restrooms, vault toilets, or provided facilities whenever available—this is the best move for water safety. If you’re dispersed near developed recreation sites, check rules; some areas now prohibit catholes due to backcountry contamination and require pack-out systems. Where no facilities exist:
- Find a spot as far from the campground and any waterways or trails as you can safely get to. The 200’ rule that applies in the backcountry often isn’t far enough to spread out human waste in high-use campgrounds and front-country areas.
- Ensure human waste is thoroughly buried 6-8” deep and well covered with soil and rocks. Pack out your toilet tissue or wipes using a disposable bag.
- If regulations or signs prohibit digging a cathole to bury your poop, comply — many front-country areas now require that you pack-out of human waste precisely because increasing recreation threatens water quality and public health.
Rafting, Kayaking & River Trips
On river corridors, the concept of how far from water to poop is different because your activity takes place literally beside the water.
- Assume packing-out is the default, especially on popular river systems where permit requirements already specify human waste containment.
- Use a Groover, a group toilet system, designed to contain waste and minimize leakage whenever you’re at camp and supplement with individual Pack Out Kits for emergencies or during side hikes
- Never rely on downstream dilution — many rivers connect to municipal water sources or prime recreational zones downstream.
Water quality monitoring along rivers confirms that human and animal waste can quickly escalate bacteria levels, affecting water safety for swimmers, anglers, and all downstream users.
Fly Fishing & Wading
Anglers frequently enter waterways directly. This increases the potential for pathogen spread because contact with water is frequent and often unavoidable.
- Pre-plan your bathroom stops based on maps of trails, access points, and known facilities.
- Move well away from the immediate riverbank — at least 200 feet uphill — before relieving yourself.
- Carry an all-in-one PACT Lite Kit or PACT Ultra Lite Kit on your person. These kits have all the supplies necessary for burying your waste. They save time and simplify the process.
- When choosing a spot, stick to higher ground where runoff doesn’t channel directly into the river.
In riparian areas (lush, green transition zones near rivers) with flat floodplains, you may need to travel further or pack out to ensure your waste doesn’t wash into waterways.
Rock Climbing
Rock climbers face unique constraints with managing human waste. Climbing is often highly concentrated around pullouts and cliff bases. Regardless of your proximity to waterways, packing out your poop is best practice.
- At popular crags, land managers and advocacy groups have funded the installation and maintenance of vault toilets. Know where these are and use them whenever possible.
- When a toilet isn’t available, be prepared to pack out your poop. Seasoned climbers always keep a Pack Out Kit (or two) in their climbing pack for emergencies. After use, dispose of it in the nearest trash receptacle.
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On trips with long approaches, into the alpine or on multi-pitch climbs, it’s especially important to carry multiple Pack Out Kits. It’s also important to carry hand sanitizer as the most common forms of backcountry illness result from trace amounts of fecal matter on hands. Also, pack a secondary trash bag to store used bags in for the duration of your outing.
Snow Sports & Winter Backcountry Travel
In snowy or frozen terrain, standard catholes aren’t feasible as it’s impossible to dig a cathole in frozen ground, and buried waste will remain trapped in ice or snow, only to be released later in meltwater. This creates real risks for pathogen spread when snowmelt enters sensitive streams.
- Pack out all human waste using a Pack Out Kit — this is both a best practice and often a requirement in winter zones.
- If traveling in snow, aim for areas that will melt away from standing water, but keep in mind that snowpack moves water downhill as it melts.
- On glaciers or alpine snowfields, where snow melts into creeks you’ll drink from later, waste left behind can travel for miles once melt begins.
Case Study: Mount Everest Is a Global Lesson in Waste & Water Safety
Mountaineering on Mount Everest highlights the ultimate case in human waste management and pathogen spread in frozen landscapes. Historically, climbers dug holes in snow, buried their waste, or left it on the surface — even though it would never adequately decompose in that environment. Over the years, literal tons of human waste accumulated up and down the mountain.
This problem has become so acute that local authorities in Nepal’s Everest region now require climbers to pack out their waste to base camp for proper disposal. This rule was enacted because waste not only stays visible, but can also contribute to water contamination when melt cycles transport it into down-slope water sources used by local communities.
This paradigm — that distance isn’t enough and sometimes you must carry out everything — is a powerful lesson for snow travel and winter recreation backcountry trips worldwide. Especially considering that many backcountry destinations receive far more users than Mount Everest.
Three Principles for Responsible Poop Decisions
When you ask “how far from water should I poop?” the science points to three practical principles:
- Distance matters — at least 200 feet is the minimum distance from waterways.
- Landscape and use intensity matter — fragile soils, high traffic, or snow/frozen ground mean you need to adjust practices, often to full pack-out.
- Containment matters — burying alone isn’t enough; TP and waste should be packed out when conditions or regulations require it to protect water safety.
As the San Juan watershed study noted, when human feces are detected in water bodies, it becomes harder to mitigate — and downstream communities pay the price.
Final Checklist for Clean Water & Healthy Recreation
✔ Know local sanitation regulations and expectations.
✔ Carry a waste burial kit like a PACT Lite Bathroom Kit on all outings.
✔ Move at least 200 feet from water when choosing a spot to bury your waste.
✔ In alpine, snow, or fragile soils, prioritize pack-out with a PACT Pack Out Kit.
✔ Sterilize or wash your hands after going to the bathroom in the backcountry.
✔ Prior to outings, normalize the topic by asking members of your group if they’re prepared with a bathroom solution.
Essential Gear List
An all-in-one backcountry bathroom kit for digging a hole and burying your poop. Holds 5-7 days worth of supplies. Compressed wipes save weight and space, and break down faster. PACT Tabs use fungal mycelium to decompose waste faster and kill harmful pathogens like E. coli.
Ideal For: Hikers, Backpackers, Car Campers, Hunters, and Anglers
An even smaller and lighter all-in-one bathroom kit for digging a hole and burying your poop. Holds 3 days worth of supplies and weighs 2.5oz when fully stocked. Comes with PACT Wipes that can you clean with less impact and PACT Tabs to break down waste faster.
Ideal For: Trail Runners, Bikepackers, Short Overnights
Disposable all-in-one kits for packing out your poop in fragile and high-use ecosystems where burying your waste isn’t appropriate. Contains everything you need to stay clean and safely haul your poop our to the nearest waste receptacle:
Ideal For: Climbers, Rafters, Backcountry Skiers, Mountaineers and anyone traveling in sensitive and high use ecosystems.